KUTZTOWN, PA (January 23, 2010 ) – Like a finely-tuned machine, the Kutztown University women's basketball team played its best game of the season in defeating Shippensburg University, 82-65, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game at Keystone Arena Saturday afternoon. (BOXSCORE)
In winning their second consecutive conference game, the Golden Bears (12-5 overall, 3-1 PSAC East) were crisp offensively and sharp defensively. Kutztown ran the floor like greyhounds, shared the ball and most importantly made a bunch of shots early and often.
Junior forward Melissa McQuade finished a good week by scoring a team-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. McQuade averaged 21 points in two victories this week for KU. Senior center Chauntelle Schroeder made her first seven shots to finish with 14 points. She scored 12 points after intermission. Senior guard Rachel Wisemiller also added 14 points along with a team-high seven rebounds.
The tandem of junior Kristen Murray and energetic freshman Ashley Wood sparked an impressive outing from the Golden Bear reserves by combining for 21 points. Murray scored 11 points. Wood scored eight of her 10 points in the first half. Directing the Golden Bears strong offensive effort was senior guard Vivian Melvin, who delivered a game-high seven assists. Overall, Kutztown shot 50.9 percent for the game (29-for-57).
Defensively, the Golden Bears limited the highest scoring PSAC tandem of Kasey Gardner and Lauren Beckley to 36 harmless points. Gardner scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half. Beckley finished with 15 points. Caitlin Bamberger collected a double-double for the Red Raiders (8-12, 1-3) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Beckley also finished with eight rebounds.
Kutztown never trailed. The Golden Bears' advantage peaked at 59-30 with 14 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the game. Despite trailing by a large margin, Shippensburg made the game interesting by slicing KU's lead to 61-47 with 10:34 remaining following a Beckley 3-pointer. That basket finished a 12-0 Red Raider burst.
McQuade answered with a 3-pointer, a pair of foul shots and a jumper to quell the Red Raider uprising. When McQuade finished her personal scoring binge, the Golden Bears enjoyed a 68-47 bulge with 8:20 remaining.
Playing perhaps its finest half of basketball this season, the Golden Bears roared to a 40-22 halftime lead. All nine players who saw action in the first half for Kutztown scored at least two points. Wisemiller and McQuade keyed a quick 8-0 burst to begin the game by sinking 3-pointers on Kutztown's opening two possessions.
The Golden Bears took control of the game behind Wood and Murray, who scored eight straight points during a three-minute stretch midway through the first half that helped KU stretch its 14-9 lead to 22-9 with 9:31 remaining. After Murray's 3-pointer gave Kutztown a 20-9 advantage, the Golden Bears' advantage never dropped below double digits the remainder of the game.
Kutztown returns to action Wednesday night when it hosts West Chester University in a PSAC East game beginning at 6 p.m. Shippensburg hosts Bloomsburg also at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
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